


day through a grinder

by gearyoak



Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: Blood, Canon-Typical Violence, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-12
Updated: 2019-10-12
Packaged: 2020-12-09 12:23:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20994752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gearyoak/pseuds/gearyoak
Summary: It’s what Mirage was thinking about when he finally overcame one of the steep, snowy hills that surrounded the Epicenter. He reached the top with a heaving inhale that stung his lungs because of the temperature just in time to hear three pops of Crypto’s Longbow.Mirage stood there, and thought two things: "Fuck this cold" and "Just who the hell are you?"





	day through a grinder

**Author's Note:**

> i'm usually the one who plays crypto so i just recently saw what he looks like when he aims down sights and let me just say, that is very sexy of him.
> 
> in general i was surprised that i didn't get gunned down because i just stop dead in my tracks to stare at him. so, i wrote about what would happen if someone got gunned down while staring at him :^)
> 
> no beta, read over once after i finished it the night before. if you see something that wasn't tagged but you want it to be tagged, lmk

Mirage could admit that he,  _ maybe _ , was a little too quick to dislike the new guy.

But at the same time, the new guy also almost dislocated his shoulder before they even got the chance to drop their very first game. That was a little much, and sure, it was after Mirage pestered him with some maybe not-so-friendly questioning - but there was no  _ warning _ . No,  _ hey, you’re incredibly handsome, but I’m a little busy at the moment. Can this wait? _ Just straight into the arm twisting. 

Had he gotten over it? No. Is he holding a grudge? Maybe, but the new guy was, too. Mirage never saw him outside of the games, which he was sure the kid was doing on purpose, and every conversation he ever attempted to have with him was largely one-sided with replies that came in the form of one word or sneers.

Lifeline, their other teammate, didn’t seem bothered by him. She was easy to get along with, though. She talked to him when it was necessary and pretty much left him alone - but that was the difference between her and Mirage. The new guy_ wanted_ to be left alone, and Lifeline could get behind that if it didn’t interfere with their performance. Mirage, on the other hand, wanted to know  why _ .  _ The thing was, no one knew anything about him. The other new kids - Octane and Wattson -  _ they _ had some sort of PR go into their integration. Everyone knew Octane, of course, and people were quick to love Wattson when they learned she had a hand in the Apex Games’ development. 

But this guy? He just kind of showed up one day, and even the media didn’t seem to know what to do with him.

It’s what Mirage was thinking about when he finally overcame one of the steep, snowy hills that surrounded the Epicenter. He reached the top with a heaving inhale that stung his lungs because of the temperature just in time to hear three pops of Crypto’s Longbow. He wasn’t far, maybe a couple of yards away, perched on one of the spears of ice and aiming down into the collection of buildings below them. Mirage waited there to catch his breath and eyed the other guy, the line of his shoulders, the steady grip on the rifle, the smooth tone in his voice when he announced the fall of a squad. 

Mirage stood there, and thought two things:  _ Fuck this cold _ and  _ Just who the hell  _ are _ you? _

And then there was fire at his back.

He cried out both in shock and in pain. In little less than a few seconds, he could feel the burning shatter of his shields as a laser cut through them. Mirage let the momentum of the shot push him forward, falling into a slide down the hill and hopefully out of his attacker’s line of sight. 

“Another team,” he called frantically into their comms. “Another team, another team from the east - the west -  _ east? _ ” 

Above his head, another orange-ish red line of energy boomed through the air.

“The  _ left _ , to the left of me!”

Once the ground was more flat, he vaulted messily onto his feet and stumbled into a sprint toward one of the unfinished buildings. Bullets whizzed around him and one or two even grazed his legs, but nothing compared to the searing pain at his spine that seemed to only grow more intense. By the time he hurtled through the doors, Mirage could hardly stand.

The sound of an SMG answered the onslaught of gunfire, and subconsciously he noted that Lifeline had made it back across the city to fend off the new team. Her call outs were drowned out in his pain, but Mirage could just barely make out Octane’s name.

_ Little bastard _ , he thought deliriously as he found a good corner to huddle in.  _ Drinks are  _ not _ on me, tonight _ .

The skin on his back hurt so bad he almost didn’t want to look to see the damage that had been done, but he had to twist around to get his backpack anyway. Wincing, he did just that, cheeks puffing out in a hard exhale that was punched out of him. The cloth of his jumpsuit had literally been burned away, and the skin underneath - it was red - and also white - but he was right before when he thought that he didn’t want to look, because he shouldn’t have, so he stopped. Just stopped looking and pulled off his pack as fast as he could. 

It was lighter than he would have liked, mostly filled with ammo and a few shield cells. Mirage fished the latter out but knew that they weren’t going to do anything for the pain. As he tossed away the bag, he cursed at the Refinery, vowing to never drop there again. Who even chose that spot? He hoped it wasn’t him, that would have been embarrassing. Actually it was him, wasn’t it? Okay, then maybe they should have split up meds more efficiently before they rotated.

Mirage grit his teeth as pain thudded through him. The shots he took as he made his escape were pulsing lazily, now, blood soaking into quilted fabric.

“Shit,” he said to himself and began the process of repairing his shields.

He was just about topped off when he heard the doors hiss open. He didn’t make an effort to look, just tipped his head up and aimed a prayer at anything that would listen that it was Lifeline walking through them - or even Octane to come finish him off. Just not Crypto. _Anyone_ but Crypto.

He wasn’t actually all that surprised that it ended up being Crypto.

“I’m not hiding,” Mirage felt the need to clarify as the other strolled around the corner to stop and stare at him, hands stuffed casually in his pockets. He didn’t say anything, so Mirage continued. “It’s those stupid Charge Rifles. What psy - psy-th - psycho - “ Seriously,  _ fuck _ the cold. It made talking even harder. The pain wasn’t exactly helping much, either. “What  _ crazy person _ even let those into loot distribution?”

Crypto still didn’t say anything.

Mirage sighed. “Where’s Lifeline?”

“Looting.”

Mirage narrowed his eyes. He didn’t break eye contact with Crypto as he reached up to tap into their comms again. “Hey, Che.”

A response came in the next second. “‘Ey, Witt.”

If it weren’t for the staring contest he was currently locked in and the world record setting blister on his back, Mirage would have grinned. “Our good friend D.O.C. wouldn’t happen to have an appointment available?”

Lifeline did grin, though. Mirage could hear it in her voice when she said, “We don’t take walk ins.”

“Not even for me?”

“He’s docked right now, won’t be ready for another ten minutes, I’d say.”

Mirage sighed again and muted himself. “Alright, there’s that.”

At some point, Crypto’s blank stare morphed into something that was as equally unimpressed but still somehow managed to be questioning. “No medkits?”

“Nope,” Mirage replied, popping the last syllable. “Not yet, anyway.”

He leaned forward to stand, but metal of the wall that had been a temporary, soothing solution to the heat on his skin ended up being a horrible idea. As it peeled away, his burn was reintroduced to the open air and it  _ stung _ . 

“Son of a bitch - “

“Stay,” Crypto ordered suddenly. He began to retrace his steps, heading back for the doors he came in through.

Mirage scoffed. Who did this guy think he was? “I’m  _ fine.  _ Besides, you don’t tell me what to do.”

Crypto rolled his eyes. “Don’t be an idiot.” Then he tossed out his drone and left it floating in the corner opposite of Mirage. A nonverbal way of saying  _ end of discussion _ .

Again, Mirage scoffed, but this time with more venom. “I’m not an idiot,” he snapped at the closing doors.

Of course, he got no response. Everything was quiet now, all but his own jumpy breathing and the low, gentle hum of the drone his teammate had left behind. Mirage glared at it. Usually the feeling of being watched was something he relished, something he thrived in. But in this way? It was creepy - and annoying. Leaving the thing behind like a stupid little watchdog - as if Mirage wouldn’t just shoot it down and leave if he really wanted to.

Briefly, Mirage wondered if Crypto could hear what the drone could when he wasn’t actively piloting the thing. He could ask himself, but there was no real way for Mirage to ensure he’d get an honest answer - if he’d get an answer at all. There was always just testing it out through trial and error, but running the risk of sounding like a complete lunatic as he talked to a floating robot in order to curse out someone who very well couldn’t hear him wasn't a good look. _Especially_ on a psych eval. Not that they performed many of those anyway. And even if Crypto  _ could  _ hear, would there be any real pay off? Mirage hardly got a reaction from him when he said something to the kid’s face.

Ultimately, Mirage decided that either way it would be worth it. He was aching and he was in pain and he was aggravated and he did  _ not _ need a babysitter.

But when he sat up straight, the tilt of his head was enough to remove the glare off the lens and he realized it wasn’t actually aimed at him. The eye of the drone was pointed behind Mirage, toward the door he had hid from earlier.

Technically, he was still correct on the watchdog thing, it just wasn’t watching  _ him _ . 

For a moment he could only blink at it. He hadn’t thought Crypto had cared enough to make sure someone didn’t sneak up on Mirage. It wouldn’t have shocked him to find out that Crypto held the belief that he and Lifeline alone could win these games. People often thought that about Mirage. Hell,  _ Mirage _ thought that about Mirage, but he never expressed it out loud. Or even to himself, for that matter. Best not think about it. Except for just then. 

“Shit,” Mirage said again. He thumped his head back against the wall. “This is going on the list of  _ Worst Days of My Very Bad Life _ ,” he told the drone that wasn’t looking at him, the previous wondering of Crypto being able to hear him long forgotten. “It’s an extensi - ecsen -  _ extensive _ list, but today is definitely up there.”

Of course there was no answer. Mirage closed his eyes so he didn’t have to see his own breath anymore and tried to count the seconds that went by. It was better than focusing on the dull but ever present pain. Absentmindedly, he shimmied his leg to see if the fabric over one of the bullet holes would move in an effort to check to test if the blood had frozen the fabric down.  _ That _ would have been the worst, honestly the stick to break the camel’s back, or however the saying went. It didn’t, though; the cloth moved over the in a wet, rough scrape. He guessed it wasn’t as cold as it felt. 

Never in his life did Mirage think he was going to miss the desert of Skull Town.

The thudding in his calf was suddenly overshadowed by a very sudden sting in his upper thigh. Mirage jolted and cursed, eyes flying open to see Crypto’s smug little smirk and a syringe with its needle plunged deep in his leg.

Right, because they needed more people who could walk without a sound; Bloodhound and Wraith weren’t enough. Sure.

“I could have done that.” Even as he spoke he felt the effects of the aid and it took out a lot of the bite he’d meant to put into his words. 

He didn’t say anything in return, but Crypto did hand him two more syringes rather than stabbing Mirage again for fun. Little shit. Still, Mirage didn’t try to push for the banter; he was going to need the meds and he didn’t want to give Crypto a reason to rescind his admittedly kind help.

A deep, shuddering breath of relief left him as he felt the wounds on his legs knit back together and the skin on his back smooth back out. There was still a gaping hole in across his shoulders in the suit, but at least now the sting was just from the cold and not an energy weapon burn.

“Didn’t really dress for the weather,” Mirage began conversationally as he heaved himself back to his feet. Yeah, he felt much better. “Our last arena - you weren’t there, but you might have seen it at home - it was all desert. Well, mostly desert. And dragons. So, y’know, lizards, which means it had to be hot, because cold-blooded and all that.” 

Crypto’s blank look was Mirage’s only answer, but it seemed different now; stiff. 

Instead of commenting on it, Mirage just continued to talk. “But, anyway, everyone knows how Apex couldn’t have controlled games there anymore, so we had to move. I guess I didn’t really get a chance to go over the new arena before the season started. I mean, c'mon, someone like me? What would I have to worry about? This isn't my first rodeo. Turns out, _snow_. I'd have to worry about snow.” He reached around to fiddle with the singed edges of his suit with a pout. “ _ This  _ isn’t going to be easy to patch up.”

To his credit, Crypto hadn’t left or told him to shut up, but maybe that was saved for people who knew him better. “Polite” wouldn’t be the first word Mirage would have used to describe the kid, but, hey. If it was one thing he’d learned in the Games, it was to expect the unexpected.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Crypto offered, mocking and flat.

“Sorry enough to let me borrow your coat?” Crypto’s eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared, making Mirage laugh triumphantly. “ There’s that glare I know and love. You were scaring me, kid, almost acting like you  _ like _ me.”

Now Crypto turned away, and this time his drone followed him. 

“I always knew you did,” Mirage called after him. “Everyone loves Mirage!”

“Ring closes in the south,” Crypto said once he’s at the doors. He looked over his shoulder to give one last, knowing smirk. “The cold won’t be an issue there.”

He looked at his HUD and sure enough, there closed the ring. Lava City; aptly named. 

Mirage groaned. 

**Author's Note:**

> hey! you made it! there's no prize for getting to the end, but that shit was rough, huh? nice work! you got through it!
> 
> if you wanna see more (??????) find me over at [at my tumblr](https://konsawriter.tumblr.com/) and send me a cryptage?? cryage???? prompt :^)
> 
> also, mistakes, untagged stuff, complaints - let me know!


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